Dr. Teresa Rapp grew up in Oak View, CA where she began her higher education at the local community college, earning an A.A. at Ventura College in 2009. She completed her B.S. in Chemistry at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2012, where she performed chemical education research with Prof. Derek Gragson. Looking for a change, Dr. Rapp moved to Philadelphia, where she trained for her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania under Prof. Ivan Dmochowski. It was in the Dmochowski lab she discovered the power of ruthenium compounds applied to biological problems, especially hydrogel biomaterials after collaborating with the Burdick lab in Bioengineering. To expand her skillset, Dr. Rapp pursued a postdoc with Prof. Cole DeForest at the University of Washington, where she published multiple reviews on visible light-sensitive biomaterials, and a Nature Communications report using multiple Ru compounds to create next-gen biomaterials. In 2023 she moved to Eugene, OR to begin her independent career at the University of Oregon, building a lab to study the potential of using inorganic chemistry to direct biological events. When she's not in lab, Dr. Rapp enjoys the beautiful Eugene summers exploring the local hiking and camping spots, and the rainy winters hosting get-togethers at home.